September 2, 2022

For the last two years it has been my great personal and professional pleasure to work closely with Rick Herrman, who is stepping aside today from his positions as the Garden’s Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. A tireless professional with an extraordinary commitment to the Garden, Rick has helped this wonderful place in myriad ways. Everyone on our Board of Directors joins me in thanking Rick deeply and in looking forward, as I know our superb operating team and the greater Garden community do, to his continued presence at the Garden as an enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer.

In significant part because of Rick’s efforts, the Garden is now on solid footing in every way. Our Board and operating team are committed to continuing in the thoughtful, prudent, energetic spirit that Rick brought the Garden. As part of that commitment, I am pleased to report that we have taken steps to assure management continuity while also expanding and strengthening our Board.

Effective tomorrow, Dr. David Young will be our Executive Director, and Mr. Kevin Flores will be our Director of Finance. Welcome to both of them.

David, a Santa Fe resident who has degrees in biology as well as a Ph.D. in botany, has had a distinguished 40-year career in higher education. He has great familiarity with botanical gardens, having served at the Director of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden as well as a board member of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Here in Santa Fe, he serves on the boards of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and the School for Advanced Research. David has stepped down from our Board to concentrate on his Executive Director duties.

Kevin, also a Santa Fe resident, is a longtime banker and financial executive who followed his microbiology college studies with a master of business administration degree. He brought both of those disciplines to the Garden, where he served for nine years as a Board member, including service on our Finance and Audit Committees. Kevin’s deep familiarity with the Garden’s finances will be of great help to us going forward.

From the beginning, the Garden has had the support and advice of Board members who have brought expertise and energy to their fiduciary roles. Continuing in that vein, we have recently added four distinguished people to our Board – Mr. John Duncan, Ms. Carmen Gonzales, Ms. Martha Romero, and Ms. Della Warrior. Each of them has had impressive career experiences and achievements, including extensive service on nonprofit boards. Their complementary backgrounds, which include many leadership positions in organizations focused on Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, range from the education world to the business, museum, and legal worlds. We are honored to have them on our Board. Welcome, John, Carmen, Martha, and Della.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to all of the talented, committed people on our operating team, who show the love they have for the Garden every day, and to all of you in the broader community who provide volunteer time, donations, and general enthusiasm for the Garden. The Garden would not be what it is without you.